Empowering the Next Generation of Women Engineers

Reported By: Shelby McCormick

Photographed By: Yolanda Diaz

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a national organization founded in 1950 and has now amassed 40,000 members nationwide. George Fox University’s (GFU) SWE chapter Vice President, Meghan Clausen, said that, at its core, the club is about “empowering women and minorities in general and building connections.”

The club here on campus holds regular officer meetings to plan events not only for engineering students, but for the whole study body. These events have included alumni panels and laser and t-shirt events.. Their goals for the spring are to hold general member meetings and to participate in Engineer’s Week in February.

SWE’s largest undertaking is their mentorship program. SWE started this program four years ago and has grown to 70 mentor pairs this year. The pairings consist of a first-year and an upperclassperson in the same concentration. SWE’s regional leader was “very impressed” with their mentorship program, said Kaitlyn Ramirez, president of SWE.

SWE has partnered with Cream Northwest to give each mentor pair a free scoop of ice cream to enjoy over a meeting.

While the club is called the Society of Women Engineers, membership is not exclusively available to women. On their website, SWE says, “SWE respects that gender is a continuum. Everyone is welcome to join SWE as a member. Our programs are focused on those who want to be in a woman-oriented space, and we welcome individuals who identify as non-binary or gender expansive who are comfortable in such an environment.”

This year, the GFU chapter welcomed their first male member. “The main idea is that you are empowering women, and you can do that from anybody’s standpoint,” said Clausen. While all members are engineering majors, anyone willing to pay the membership fee and be a positive participant in that space are welcome to join.

Clausen said that what she has gotten out of SWE was primarily the leadership experience acquired through organizing and leading meetings, communicating with professionals on and off campus and connecting with other students.

Ramirez’s experience looked different as she entered the club as the only first-year student at the time. “I came in as a freshman and it was really nerve- racking but exciting getting in there and getting people to know my name,” she said 

She never expected to become president in her second year but that, “it’s been so empowering having that leadership role and being able to communicate with our teammates. Our team has been amazing this year, so it’s been beneficial all around,” said Ramirez.